“The Olympus Mju Tough 8000 is great for all outdoor adventures, when all you want to carry is a compact digital camera and not have to worry about damaging it or carrying extra gear such as a waterproof enclosure.”

“There’s really only one word to describe the new shockproof, waterproof, freezeproof, crushproof and shakeproof camera from Olympus: Tough! Built to withstand some of the harshest environments on earth, the Mju Tough series build on the impressive specifications of the renowned Mju SW Series by adding Dual Image Stabilization.”

“In use, the mju Tough 8000 worked well in all circumstances, including extensive use in a pool. Underwater images came out a little less contrasty, sharp and detailed than 'normal' shots, and the camera did not fully compensate for the predominant blue cast either, but it was still thrilling to be able to use it in situations when other cameras would have had to be left at home.”

“There is absolutely no need to drum up hype for the Mju Tough 8000. Its long and remarkable list of ‘proofing’ capabilities paired with its ease-of-use and high standard of image quality, make this Olympus unit a star in its class and entirely worth every cent that you pay for it.”

“From powering on to first shot, the Olympus Tough 8000 was the quickest of the bunch, clocking in at two seconds with the Fujifilm Finepix Z33WP trailing at 2.6 seconds and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1 coasting in at over three seconds. All three cameras run on rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries and record JPEG image files. The Panasonic Lumic DMC-TS1 and Fujifilm Finepix Z33WP record to SD/SDHC cards while the Olympus Tough 8000 records solely to xD cards”

“Although I did not test all of the 'tough' features of the Stylus Tough-8000 — there's something just not right about trying to force yourself to drop a loaner camera from 6 feet in the air — it's very obvious that this model is one of the most well built point and shoot cameras around.”

“When we see 'tough' in a product's name, its got big shoes to fill. Travel bloggers are the sort of people who shred digital cameras, so when Olympus gave us an opportunity to test out the STYLUS Tough-8000, we jumped at the opportunity.”

“The debut of the Stylus Tough 8000 this year marks Olympus’ rebranding of the Stylus SW series cameras to the Stylus Tough name, so to “reflect the nature of Olympus’ rugged cameras”. Yes, the Olympus Stylus Tough 8000 is another one of their rugged cameras; being water, shock, crush and freezeproof.”

The screen was particularly good. It is bright and visible from most angles, however heat is an issue, particularly around the Windows button on the front, and on the back where the battery housing is located.

My first impression after unboxing the Q702 is that it is a nice looking unit. Styling is somewhat minimalist but very effective. The tablet part, once detached, has a nice weight, and no buttons or switches are located in awkward or intrusive positions.

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